Ojai Valley Neighborhoods: Upper Ojai

_Upper Ojai is situated on a plateau between the cities of Ojai and Santa Paula. Located 800 feet above the valley floor and just a short drive from downtown Ojai, this rural community boasts expansive estates and some of the most luxurious Ojai ranches that come on the market. This bucolic paradise defines country living at its finest, and most newcomers are astonished to hear that they are only 90 miles north of the bustling city of Los Angeles when they are surrounded by nature and breathing the clean country air of Upper Ojai. Most of the Ojai estates and ranches in Upper Ojai are on 20-acre parcels, but smaller and larger properties are also available. With the smallest parcels at just about one-half of an acre and the larger Upper Ojai ranch properties expanding to about 40 acres, there is a variety of estates from which to choose. While this community is best known for its Ojai horse property, there are also many residents who choose this area simply as a country retreat where they can get away from it all and enjoy watching the sunsets and waiting for a glimpse of Ojai’s famous Pink Moment, which happens when the setting sun hits the Topa Topa Mountains just right. Aside from being an equestrian paradise and a utopia for nature lovers, Upper Ojai is also home to The Ojai Foundation, The Beatrice Wood Center for the Arts, the Summit Café, a general store, and a Christmas tree and pumpkin farm. There is also the public Summit Elementary School, as well as two private schools: Happy Valley School and the Besant Hill School. When driving up Dennison Grade to view homes for sale in Upper Ojai, be sure to stop at the scenic lookout to take in the view of the Ojai Valley made famous by the 1937 film, Lost Horizon, in which a shot of the picturesque valley below was used to represent the mystical valley of Shangri-La. When the fictional utopia of Shangri-La was first introduced in the 1933 novel on which the film was based, it was depicted as a blissful paradise where residents enjoyed a harmonious life unencumbered by the stresses of the outside world. Using the view of the Ojai Valley was a fitting choice to symbolize this ideal world, since current residents would certainly attest to Ojai being a modern-day Shangri-La. Contact Nora if you would like to learn more about Upper Ojai estates and ranches, or are interested in scheduling a viewing for an Ojai horse property currently on the market.